Local health officials tell House Oversight EGLE's sewage interpretation slowed permits and lacked local input

Local health officials on Tuesday told the Michigan House Oversight Committee that a June 2025 EGLE clarification of how the state's subsurface sewage rules apply to small nonresidential systems has disrupted long-standing local permitting practice and was implemented without adequate stakeholder engagement.

"We support strong environmental protections. We support evidence based decision making," said Norm Hess, executive director of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health. He said local departments were sometimes informed of the change through contract language and guidance rather than a collaborative rulemaking process, and that his March letter requesting a meeting with EGLE leadership went unanswered.

Christina Harrington, Saginaw County health officer, said her concern was procedural, not a desire to block policy: "My remarks today are not about resisting change. They are about process." Harrington asked what scientific, environmental or public-health data supported EGLE's assertions that long-standing local permitting practices were injurious to public health.

Kevin Green, environmental health director for Calhoun County, gave a practical example of how the interpretation has been applied: a small wine-tasting business that local staff denied because of high groundwater and heavy soils later received approval after appeal to Part 22 reviewers, who did not perform the same on-site final inspections required by local permits. "When we go out and do a permit, we're required ... to go out and before it's covered to final the permit is what we call it. So we make sure what was in the permit and the elevations, locations, and all that stuff was actually followed by the contractor," Green said, describing a process he says was bypassed in at least one appeal.

EGLE officials defended their actions at the hearing. "We do not intend to affect any kind of funding," said Eric Oswald, director of the Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Oswald said EGLE asked the attorney general's office for an interpretation after program and local staff raised questions about how to apply Part 22 rules to nonresidential systems discharging less than 1,000 gallons per day; that clarification was sent to local health departments in June 2025 as a letter meant to ensure consistent application of minimum standards.

Jared Sanders, director of the Water Resources Division (joining virtually), framed the issue within broader water-quality data: "A little over 50% of the river segments that we tested over the last 2 years are impaired for E. coli," he said, and added that genetic testing sometimes shows human contamination among the multiple sources of E. coli.

Committee members pressed both sides for specifics. Representatives asked EGLE to identify documented cases where local permitting produced contamination, whether EGLE had conducted independent scientific analyses beyond the AG opinion, and whether the interpretation has any link to industrial users such as data centers; Oswald said the department will follow up with specifics and provide examples where it can.

EGLE officials said they do not plan immediate enforcement withholding funds, but will work with local departments to map corrective plans and offer training. Oswald acknowledged local departments are under-resourced and said EGLE's intent is consistent application of state law while working cooperatively to avoid harming accreditation or funding.

The committee requested follow-up materials, including examples and supporting data. Representative Regas moved to excuse absent members by unanimous consent and the committee adjourned.

The hearing record includes requests from local health leaders for clearer stakeholder engagement before policy changes take effect and EGLE's commitment to training, remediation plans and further data-sharing.